United States President Donald Trump said at a White House press conference on Monday that he would review the case of Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez, who was sentenced in November to prison over his role in the crypto mixing protocol. Rodriguez and co-founder William Lonergan Hill received five and four-year sentences after pleading guilty to operating an illegal money-transmitting business, and supporters are now campaigning for a presidential pardon as conventional appeal options appear limited.

On Monday, Chairman Tim Scott said the Senate Banking Committee will not hold a markup on the crypto market structure bill this week, with a spokesperson targeting early 2026. The House passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in July by a 294-134 vote, while senators continue bipartisan talks on ethics rules, stablecoin yields, and oversight.

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority unveiled plans on Tuesday to bring cryptoasset firms under a dedicated regime. The consultation runs until February 12, with the framework expected to be finalized next year and applied from 2027. The FCA softened earlier positions, allowing platforms to list their own tokens and trade directly with clients, while proposing controls on market abuse and staking programs.

Decentralized perpetual exchange Aster has introduced Shield Mode, enabling traders to open high-leverage BTC and ETH perpetual positions without revealing orders on public books. The feature supports up to 1,001x leverage with instant, zero-slippage execution and runs alongside a promotional campaign waiving gas and trading fees until December 31, 2025. Orders placed via Shield Mode are excluded from Aster's airdrop rewards program.

On December 15, 2025, MetaMask introduced native Bitcoin support, enabling users to hold, buy, send, and swap BTC inside the wallet. The company said SegWit is supported with Taproot planned, and users may earn reward points under a $30 million community program. Purchases can be made via credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, or bank transfers.

MetaMask enabled native Bitcoin functionality on December 15, 2025, letting users buy, send, receive, and swap BTC within the wallet. The update supports SegWit addresses, with Taproot planned, and offers purchasing via credit cards, PayPal, and bank transfers. MetaMask also introduced a $30 million rewards program to drive user engagement.

On Monday, MetaMask announced native Bitcoin support, enabling users to buy BTC with fiat, transfer it onchain and swap between BTC, EVM assets and SOL. The update follows earlier 2024 launches such as Solana integration, a Polymarket onramp, an mUSD stablecoin and in-app perps trading via Hyperliquid, and ties into MetaMask's upcoming MASK rewards program that includes over $30 million in LINEA incentives.

On December 15 2025, Circle announced an agreement to acquire the entire Interop Labs team along with its proprietary technology, with the transaction expected to close in early 2026. The company plans to use this acquisition to expand its Arc enterprise L1 chain and CCTP cross-chain transfer protocol so that digital assets can move efficiently across more than 100 blockchains. Axelar Network, the Axelar Foundation, the AXL token and their community-led governance will remain independent, while Common Prefix will assume Interop Labs' previous Axelar responsibilities.